Researchers Designing Rugged Virtual Fence Tech For Animal Management

Aug 02, 2022

Ranches across the American West could make their grazing practices more sustainable through a virtual fence system being developed through a joint University of Idaho project.

Newly awarded federal funding in June kickstarted a four-year field project for researchers at U of I and Washington State University to test the safety and efficacy of a prototype virtual fence system that uses novel features to manage cows, sheep and other grazing livestock with minimal ecological footprint.

Livestock and well-managed rangeland require barriers to divide pastures and manage grazing. But physical barriers — expensive to construct, alter and maintain — disrupt wildlife migration and fragment habitats.

The new technology under development aims to provide a low-cost tool for sustainable livestock and land management that performs reliably in mountainous western states, where existing virtual systems struggle to provide reliable GPS data.

“As wildlife habitat becomes increasingly fragmented and recreational activities on rangelands continue to grow, maintaining unobstructed corridors for movement of wildlife and humans is critical,” said Karen Launchbaugh, director of the U of I Rangeland Center. “Advances in wire fence designs have reduced issues for wildlife, but wire fences continue to disrupt wildlife movement.”

Commercial virtual fence systems deliver an electric shock to a cow’s neck when the animal approaches a virtual barrier. These systems eliminate the need for wire fencing by relying on GPS technology, but require subscriptions and costly on-the-ground signal towers.

Virtual fence systems simplify moving fence locations, but they require routine updates, battery replacement and recharging. The equipment also costs up to several hundred dollars per cow.

The new virtual fence system being designed by U of I and WSU researchers uses proximity sensing technology that functions in mountainous terrain and shocks the ear, rather than the neck. Both changes can make the system cheaper, less energy demanding and more durable.

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Video: Swine Industry Advances: Biodigesters Lower Emissions and Increase Profits

Analysis of greenhouse gas (GHG emissions) in the Canadian swine sector found that CH4 emissions from manure were the largest contributor to the overall emissions, followed by emissions from energy use and crop production.

This innovative project, "Improving Swine Manure-Digestate Management Practices Towards Carbon Neutrality With Net Zero Emission Concepts," from Dr. Rajinikanth Rajagopal, under Swine Cluster 4, seeks to develop strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

While the management of manure can be very demanding and expensive for swine operations, it can also be viewed as an opportunity for GHG mitigation, as manure storage is an emission source built and managed by swine producers. Moreover, the majority of CH4 emissions from manure occur during a short period of time in the summer, which can potentially be mitigated with targeted intervention.

In tandem with understanding baseline emissions, Dr. Rajagopal's work focuses on evaluating emission mitigation options. Manure additives have the potential of reducing manure methane emissions. Additives can be deployed relatively quickly, enabling near-term emission reductions while biodigesters are being built. Furthermore, additives can be a long-term solution at farms where biogas is not feasible (e.g., when it’s too far from a central digester). Similarly, after biodigestion, additives can also be used to further reduce emissions from storage to minimize the carbon intensity of the bioenergy.